Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 456 We all hope that the old Emperor Zhu Hongwu will come back
In Sophia Cathedral, in the office of the Grand Lama Wang, new guests came to visit.

Although it is already late at night, the lights are still bright here.At one end of the office, several priests were writing furiously and organizing documents.At the big table on the other side, Lama Wang stretched, let out a long yawn, and stood up.

"Let's record it here first." He ordered.

Next to him, Father Peter put away his pen and put the writing paper with still wet ink next to it to dry.The young girl opposite him also relaxed a little.

"Miss Tang, you have worked hard this time. I will instruct the treasurer later to pay you more." Lama Wang waved his fly whisk, put it on his shoulders, and clasped his hands towards the girl: "These days, we have to pay more. I’ll ask you a few more times.”

"Master Wang is so polite. If you have anything you want to ask, as long as I know, I will tell you." The girl replied in Mandarin with an accent:

"We have not only worked hard for the past six months, we have been working hard. It is not easy to find a place to stay in this far west. Since Master is kind enough to entertain us, we will definitely do our best to help."

"This...Miss Saint, you just said that you came all the way from Han, but how did you think of running here?" Father Peter asked curiously: "This is too far."

"What's the point of being a saint? Just call me Tang Sai'er." The young girl shook her head repeatedly, looking very frustrated: "The congregation has all dispersed, so what do you have the nerve to say..."

"In the beginning, we didn't want to run so far." She told Father Peter: "The grain director of my village said that the emperor is going to increase the tax and let us pay an extra two cents every year starting from this year. Everyone in the village was not happy and asked the great monk in the village to reason with me."

"The great monk went to inquire about the situation, and the people in the county government said that the increase was because the imperial court had mobilized troops for many years and consumed a lot of money and food."

"This is also a normal situation. No matter whether it is north or south, the court in any place must be like this." Father Peter said.

"Normally, we are the ones who will suffer in the end." Tang Sai'er complained unceremoniously: "And the government officials have always been very arrogant, and they usually don't even bother to explain to you why. As for this prevarication, it's better for everyone When a trouble broke out, I found him at the door of his yamen, so I came out to talk about it."

"We, the villagers, were naturally not happy, but their attitude was very tough this time and they were not willing to talk at all. We had no other choice, so we gathered the church members and surrounded the county government office, hoping to push the matter back. "

"Is it such a big fuss?" Father Peter was very surprised: "Isn't this a civil uprising? Isn't it going to start a fight?"

"It's okay if we don't make trouble." Although Tang Sai'er still looks like a young girl, when it comes to this kind of thing, she talks eloquently and is obviously very experienced: "Most of the time, civil commotion... it can be said to be a civil commotion. Well, it's just to scare people, it's not really about a civil uprising. What can I say... things like increasing land tax, at least five times out of ten, are actually fake."

"fake?"

"Yes, it's grain chiefs, wealthy households and the like who pretend to pass orders from the government. They say it's to increase taxes, but in fact the overcharged rent is not what the court wants at all. It all goes into their own warehouses." Tang Sai'er shook his head. :
"Ordinary farmers, with few people and weak power, cannot defeat them. Even if they know that they are unreasonable, they can only swallow their anger. Therefore, we in the White Lotus Sect often recruit people and coordinate everyone to act together. Only in this way can we suppress them."

"Other times, it is the official who wants to improve his political performance. For example, when there is an assessment, or if he can make meritorious service, the government will get busy. The grain collected originally is enough, but in order to please the superior, he has to Just charge more to show that you are capable."

"The great monk said that officials at all levels will compete with each other, or do some nonsense to disgust their colleagues. It is obvious that the officials are fighting among themselves, but they suppress it from layer to layer, and finally it all falls on us. Therefore, we can only give it a try and see if we can withstand it." "Most of the time when the government implements policies, it depends on the benefits and disadvantages and determines the intensity. So, with luck, maybe you can push back and force them to do so. Wipe your own ass. Bad luck - well, it couldn't be any worse," she said.

"Oh, it's the same here." Lama Wang was quite touched: "It's just that everyone here is a military household, so the way of making trouble is usually not like a civil uprising, but within the army. , it just behaves differently.”

"The education here is still too hasty. I think we should at least provide supplementary lessons for everyone so that officials can also have basic philosophical ideas." He sighed: "Does ruling a country mean not giving orders? That's not the case. .”

"The upper position, the active side, resides in yang; the lower position, the passive side, resides in yin. However, the situation is uncertain, yin and yang change each other, and the imposer and the recipient are also mutual. Officials and the people will also take the initiative of each other and drive the situation. Transformation. Governing a country is also a way of harmonizing yin and yang. It is not a simple unilateral action."

"Uh..." Tang Sai'er didn't seem to understand much: "Master Wang is still awesome..."

"Stop praising me. Old man, I am only semi-illiterate. I only acquired this knowledge when I was working. Whatever I lacked, I just made up for it temporarily." Lama Wang waved his hands repeatedly: "It's your previous experience, old man. I’m quite interested. Do you want to continue talking?”

"There's nothing to talk about in the future, it's all sad things." Tang Sai'er shook his head helplessly: "The county said that the superiors want to build a navy in Shandong to prepare to solve the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop. They say... It is a matter of national importance and cannot be accommodated. Not only do we need to increase taxes, but we also need to increase corvee services in coastal areas, repair docks, and prepare for the construction of warships. We inland people also have to transport food and materials, and there are a lot of other things. .”

"There's going to be a war, so there's nothing we can do." Father Peter said.

"Anyway, the government is very tough. The county magistrate personally came forward and said a lot about loyalty and filial piety. Anyway, these taxes must be increased. Anyone who is not willing to do so is disloyal and unfilial and must be severely punished according to the king's law. However, he After he finished speaking, he invited the master of the mansion to lecture everyone." Tang Saier continued:

"The master in the mansion said that this is the strategy that the big men above have worked hard to come up with. It's not that you have to fight against everyone, there is really no better way. Now the Northern Barbarians, Eastern Japanese, and Southern Barbarians are joining forces. First, if we can't break the Dongbo first, we won't be able to cut off the exchanges between the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, and everyone will have to suffer all year round. With the current situation, we can only fight harder to win...what's the matter..."

"Let's finish all our efforts in one battle." Lama Wang said.

"Yes, that's what I mean. Anyway, the long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain. Let's suffer for the people in the past two years. When things are done, we won't have to suffer anymore." Tang Sai'er nodded and continued.

"Then do you believe it?" Father Peter asked.

"The county magistrate spoke very harshly, and when faced with so many of us, he walked over to reprimand him arrogantly. We feel that someone may really be supporting him this time, so everyone feels guilty." Tang Saier replied: " Some old people said that the Ming Dynasty's army indeed went north from here and drove away the Tatars. Although there were many bastards in the court, at least they were reliable in fighting the Tatars."

"The great monk himself didn't know what to do, so he thought we should just forget it. The villagers also thought that if it doesn't work, just hold on and try to survive the past two years. After hesitating for a long time, the villagers dispersed one after another. , several of us have also gone back."

"But at night, the church suddenly sent someone again to tell us that something big has happened and we need to prepare early. There was also an old fairy girl here. Oh -" She patted the sword on her waist: " It’s the one who gave me this sword as I said before.”

(End of this chapter)